So Close
by MoonlitMoony
Summary: A/U All his life Harry Potter has known nothing but the familiarity of his home in New York city. But when he and his estranged father somehow find each other, Harry comes to find that New York may be more dangerous than he first thought.
1. In the Beginning

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm BAACK! As you may be well aware of (if you were watching the story previously) So Close, the original story was deleted and this is the revamped version of it, so much better I hope! I pray! Please read and review if you have time! I LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU! **

**UPDATE: 12/10/12: MIKE IS BACK IN THE STORY. WOOT.**

**This is an Alternative Universe story so James and Lily are still alive and Lily and Harry are currently living in New York.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**ACleverRubberCactus**

* * *

A life goes by  
Romantic dreams must die  
So I bid mine goodbye  
And never knew  
So close was waiting  
Waiting here with you  
And now, forever, I know  
All that I want is to hold you  
So close

- John McLaughlin

* * *

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away there was a boy and a girl. From the moment of their first meeting, so long ago now it seemed, the boy fell deeply in love with the girl and everyday he begged the girl to be with him. She refused him, however for the boy was cruel, arrogant and selfish. The years passed and, as all things do, the boy changed. Rather than the selfish, arrogant beast he was before, the boy had matured into a good-natured, well-humored young man. It wasn't long before the girl, now a beautiful young woman, fell madly in love with him in return. Within only a few years, the young, blissful couple were engaged and due to be married – however it was never meant to be. Only a day before their wedding, the young woman found a letter by her bedside informing her that her prince charming had left her for another. Heartbroken and unable to face her friends or family, the young woman left her home, going as far away as possible, where she lived alone. All hope for the life that she'd dreamed of having seemed lost forever. That was, however, until she found that she had been blessed with the greatest gift of all. The gift of new life, a baby boy she named Harry Potter.

Our story begins seven years after Harry's birth, in a third grade classroom in John Peterson Elementary school in Manhattan, New York. Harry Potter was no longer a baby but now a scrawny little boy of eight. He pushed his oval shaped glasses, the bridge taped up at the bridge with a thick layer of duct-tape, farther up onto the bridge of his thin nose and pushed a strand of his messy, jet black hair from his emerald eyes as he carefully traced a charcoal black line across his drawing paper. Their teacher had asked the class to draw a picture of their families at Christmas-time as an activity for the last day before the students were all dismissed for their annual holiday break.

His eyes jumped back to the paper as he began to trace out a taller stick figure in black crayon and a shorter one next to it. Ever since he'd woken up that morning Harry had felt tired, nauseous and a little dizzy, but he'd kept it from his mother. Harry's mother was a little overprotective of him and the last thing he wanted was for her to go into a panic attack if it just turned out to be some kind of minor cold. He could manage himself...or at least he tried to. He traced a pair of oval glasses on the smaller figure and a mass of jet black hair at the top of its head. He reached back into the crayon box again and pulled out a dark orange crayon and began to draw long, wavy hair on the taller figure. He next pulled out a the black crayon and began to draw another figure, tall and blond next to his mother, his mother's best friend, ex-boyfriend and the only father figure of Harry's life, Mike. Just as he was finishing up drawing a snowman next to Mike he heard Ms. Honey announce that their time was up and it was time for everyone to present their drawings to the class.

"Okay, Melissa why don't you go first?" said Ms. Honey sweetly as she pushed her stylish black rimmed glasses farther up her nose. She was a sheer delight to the eye, dressed in a green turtleneck sweater worn under a red V-Neck sweater with a reindeer pattern and a pair of khaki pants. Her ears were decorated with little Christmas tree earrings whose minute red lights lit up when you pushed a tiny black button in the back. Her honey blond hair was pulled back with a red ribbon, adorned with little gold bells that jingled softly as she walked by.

Harry watched as Melissa stood up anxiously and held up her picture for the class to see. She was a scrawny little thing, about a head shorter than everyone else in her class. Her bleach-blond hair draped down her back in a wavy cascade. The picture in her hands portrayed four stick figures and a poorly drawn dog with long droopy ears. They were all sitting around a scribbly looking Christmas tree lit with green, yellow, blue and red lights. A badly drawn fireplace stood out in the background. Harry could hear some of the students snickering in the background but one stern look by their teacher quickly shut them up. Melissa cleared her throat and began to explain her picture nervously. Clearly she wasn't all too good of a public speaker.

"Well…" she began anxiously, she was visibly shaking. "This is my family. That's my mom," she said pointing to the stick figure to the far right, it had dark brown hair. Next she pointed to a taller figure with yellow hair, "and that's my dad. The little one is my baby sister and that's me next to her and in the middle is my dog Scruffy".

As she mentioned her father Harry remembered Mike and last Christmas. Mike had rented them a lovely place at the Plaza Hotel. He remembered it well because of the enormous tree in the palace sized suite. It was at least ten feet tall, massive to say the least and had been decorated with shimmering baubles of every color. Ribbons of gold and silver were snaked around it's pine branches and bright lights shining white and red lit up the majestic tree. He remembered sitting down by the fire in his mother's lap on Christmas eve while Mike read them the third chapter of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It was a tradition Mike had started when Harry was three in which each Christmas Mike or Lily would read them one chapter of the story on Christmas eve until the entire book was complete. Mike's version of the book had fifteen chapters which meant that the last year Harry would spend living in his mother's home at eighteen was the year the last chapter would be read. Harry wondered what this year's chapter would be about, he could still vividly remember the chapter from last year; Scrooge had just been visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley, telling him he'd be visited by three other ghosts. The ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. He could hardly wait to hear more about them this year.

"That's a very nice job Melissa, I love all the colors. It looks very pretty" Ms. Honey commented as she smiled brightly and the entire class clapped uninterestedly.

"Who would name their dog Scruffy?"

Suddenly the entire room went silent. The entire class looked over at a cocky boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes and a smug look on his rat's face. It was the bully in Harry's class and Harry's least favorite person in the world, Marcus Way. Marcus enjoyed picking on anyone he saw but Harry seemed to be his favorite target. Maybe it was because Harry was so small and scrawny and his hair was usually shabby. Maybe it was because he had the worst eyesight in the class. Maybe it was because his voice was thick with the English accent he'd inherited from his mother and some of his words came out sounding funny. Whatever the reason, Marcus seemed to really enjoy making Harry's life completely miserable.

"Leave her alone Marcus," snapped Harry, jumping to his feet to Melissa's defense.

Marcus snorted and looked over at Harry, a glint of maliciousness shinning in his eyes. "Pfft, as if you're one to be talking Harry; I mean, at least she has a family," Marcus sneered at him. Harry winced at the blow, "My dad said that your dad left your mom before you were born. I guess that makes her pretty pathetic, or at least that's what my dad said".

Harry could feel his blood pressure rising with every word that Marcus was sneering at him. It was taking everything he had to stop from flying at Marcus as he was tried to ignore the swelling headache he was developing by the minute. Suddenly they heard a window crack in the back of the classroom and for a moment Harry paused to take a breath. Strange things sometimes happened when he got too angry or scared.

"I...I'VE STILL GOT MIKE!" Harry snapped back.

"Oh please, everyone knows he's not your _real_ dad" Marcus snorted. "You know he's just putting up with you and your mom because he feels sorry for you".

Harry growled. "HOW DO YOU KNOW?" he snapped. "HE...he might like me".

"Please" Marcus snapped back. "He doesn't care, why would anyone care about you and your stupid mom anyways? FREAKS!"

This was as much as Harry could take, the window in the back of the classroom shattered into pieces as Harry jumped out of his chair and lunged himself at Marcus, his fist striking whatever part of the boy he could get hold of. Students were squealing and screaming, jumping out of the boys' way and circling around them to get a good look at the fight that was commencing. He wanted to hurt Marcus as much as Marcus – no… more than Marcus had hurt him. His emerald eyes were glittered with tears of rage and hurt and by now his head was ready to split from his horrible headache. As they fought, Harry could hear the shattering of glass and the shrieks of terrified children around them but for once he didn't care. He raised his fist once more to bring it down on Marcus' thin, rat-like face but the room was spinning too fast for him to aim and before he could make to hit Marcus once more someone grabbed him around the waist and pulled him off of the boy, who was whimpering and clutching his bleeding nose, one of his dark brown eyes was purple and swollen.

"HARRY, MARCUS THAT'S ENOUGH!" he heard Ms. Honey snap as Harry fought to free himself from her tight grip, tasting the blood dripping from his split lip, "BOTH OF YOU WILL GO STRAIGHT TO THE PRINCIPLE'S OFFICE WITH ME, IMMEDIATELY!"

It was not the impulse to beat Marcus to a pulp, but rather the sudden powerful impulse to vomit that caused Harry to suddenly aim a powerful kick at Ms. Honey's shin. Ms. Honey gasped and dropped him to the ground and Harry scurried out of the room down the hallway as Ms. Honey's shrieks echoed after him.

"HARRY POTTER YOU GET BACK INTO THE ROOM, IMMEDIATELY! HARRY! HARRY!"

Harry ignored her as he dashed down the hall, his hand over his mouth, feeling the warm gooey liquid of vomit spill out over his hand and through the gaps between his fingers. With his free hand, Harry threw himself at the door and burst into one of the empty toilet cubicles. He leaned over against the toilet and heaved out whatever was left of his breakfast. Stars twinkled in and out of view and he was tired, his body was aching and he felt extremely dizzy. Just as Harry was forcing the last bit of that morning's breakfast out of his throat he heard someone burst into the boys' bathroom.

"HARRY POTTER YOU GET BACK HERE THIS MINUTE OR YOU WILL BE EXPELLED, THE OFFICE JUST CALLED YOUR…"

But her words were drowned out by the cascade of vomit spilling out into the toilet with an astounding force. They'd called his mother; a fresh wave of guilt washed over him, she'd never forgive him for this, not to mention he'd broken all of the windows in their classroom. It was cost his mother a fortune to reimburse the school, money which he knew they did not have. Harry hadn't meant to break the windows, he hadn't even touched them, they'd just smashed on their own. Things often broke when Harry felt angry or scared and there was nothing he could do about it. Ms. Honey's footsteps approached the door and he heard her knock three times.

"Harry…dear, are you alright?" he heard her say; her voice was much softer now. She must have realized that Harry was throwing up. "Are you throwing up?"

Harry retched up the last bit of vomit and sat there for a moment, kneeled over the toilet bowl as a million different emotions and thoughts whirred through his mind. He felt weak, cold, shaky, dizzy and hollow. After Ms. Honey had knocked for the second time Harry decided it was best to come out of the stall so he got tenderly to his feet, ripped off a piece of toilet paper off of the roll, wiped the vomit from his face and opened the stall door.

"Harry you look awful!" Ms. Honey cried as the door closed behind him. Harry looked into the mirror above one of the sinks just in front of him and could see she was quite right. His face was now a gaunt, pale color and he had dark, hollow circles underneath his emerald eyes. His glasses had shattered again, probably from where Marcus had gotten him and his split lip was still dribbling blood down his chin. Ms. Honey kneeled down so that she was at eye level with him and put her cold hand over his warm forehead.

"I don't feel so good," Harry moaned as Ms. Honey got back to her feet, soaked a paper towel in warm water and wiped down Harry's bloodied, vomit covered face.

Suddenly they heard the intercom blare from outside of the bathroom door and Harry let out a sigh of relief.

"Could Harry Potter please come to the office? Harry Potter please come to the office; thank you."

"That must be your mother," Ms. Honey said throwing the paper towel in the trash and taking Harry's hand in her own. They left the bathroom and began their long walk down the hallway to the office. It was chillier than usual today, he wished he had remembered to bring the sweater that was still locked up in the classroom.

"Harry," said Ms. Honey softly as they walked.

"Yeah Ms. Honey?" he asked, his voice shockingly weaker than it had been only a few moment ago. Well he obviously didn't have a cold but he wish he did, anything but this.

"Don't listen to what Marcus said earlier in class," she advised, "he's just saying that to get on your nerves".

Harry looked down at his feet as Ms. Honey paused and he supposed she was right, but she didn't understand, did she?

"It's okay" he muttered. "I'm used to it".

"Well you shouldn't be" she said. "It's not right for him to say those things, you're not a freak and nor is your mother".

She paused for a moment and Harry looked up at a little ladybug crawling on the ceiling, there seemed to be a lot of them inside now that the weather had taken a drastic drop in temperature.

"Don't worry about the windows either by the way," Ms. Honey added, "I think someone just threw a rock at the window or something and was just trying to scare us. It comes with living in New York I suppose."

Harry tipped her a weak smile as Ms. Honey ruffled his messy jet black hair and gave him a tiny push into the office. Harry's mother, Lily Evans was sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting room. She was still dressed in her work clothes, her dark red hair fell elegantly in front of her identical emerald eyes; she looked up at Harry and Ms. Honey as they walked in and jumped to her feet.

"Harry," she breathed, "oh, thank goodness; love are you alright? You look just awful!"

Harry released Ms. Honey's hand and walked toward his mother, allowing her to pull him into a tight hug and kiss him on the cheek. She paused for a moment squatted down to his eye level and ran her hand up to his forehead, feeling it for a moment before kissing his forehead and pulling away from him. It was a bit embarrassing but at this point he didn't care, he just wanted to go home and sleep.

"You feel warm darling," she said feeling his face again.

"He was in the bathroom when I found him," Ms. Honey informed his mother pushing away from her, "I thought I heard him throwing up".

Harry felt his blood run cold at the expression on his mother's face; a mix of concern and horror, he'd really done it this time. He pulled her into a tight hug and quickly apologized. If he had just stayed home like his mother had told him to he wouldn't be in this mess.

"You threw up sweetheart?" she asked him as Ms. Honey excused herself to go fetch Harry's bag, coat and lunchbox from the classroom.

"A little," Harry admitted his voice surprisingly weak.

"Harry," His mother began firmly.

"It's only a little bit, must have been something that I ate this morning," he insisted, "I'm fine really."

His mother shook her head. "No," she said firmly as she felt Harry's face once more and pulled him closer to her, "no you're sick, you're very, very sick and you're going home right now".

"What about work?" Harry asked as Ms. Honey returned with his overcoat, lunchbox and backpack. His mother took it from the teacher and helped him into his overcoat. "Doesn't Mike need you tonight?"

"Mike will be fine; I'll call him and tell him you're sick. I'm sure he'll understand; now let's get you home so I can give you a nice, warm bath and a big bowl of chicken soup and get you tucked in on the couch with a nice warm blanket and we'll watch a nice movie. I heard Rudolf was coming on tonight on TV, how does that sound?" His mother asked.

Harry pondered this for a moment and his stomach churned at the thought of food. "Well okay…just as long as I don't have to eat, I'm not really hungry right now," he replied, "but you can make some for yourself if you'd like".

His mother smiled as she finished buttoning up Harry's overcoat. "Oh, alright then, whatever you say," she said kissing him on the cheek.

"Good-bye Ms. Honey," Harry called as they walked out of the office, "Merry Christmas!"

"You too Harry," she called as she waved back and the door closed behind them.

-0-

As soon as Harry's mother pushed the door open and Harry stepped outside, the sharp sting of the icy winter wind on his tore face causing him to flinch; his head was throbbing miserably. He stumbled for a moment and nearly fell over as the harsh winter winds roared past he and his mother, but she caught him just in time.

"It's a bit windy out here today," she said loudly over the roar of the wind as she pulled her maroon and gold scarf farther up to her chin as a puff of icy breath escaped her perfect red lips.

Harry nodded and coughed. "Yeah," he said loudly, rasping his sore throat as they walked carefully down the school stairs and down the snow covered sidewalks of New York.

"Where are your mittens and your scarf?" his mother asked taking Harry's icy hand in hers.

"I forgot them I think," Harry replied.

"I told you to grab them before you left for home" Lily scolded.

"I know, I'm sorry" Harry muttered. "I just...I forgot, it was an acci-"

He suddenly clapped his hand over his mouth as a fresh wave of vomit shot up his throat, no doubt it was from the smell wafting off of a nearby hot dog stand.

"Do you have to throw up?" his mother asked.

He quickly nodded and his mother nodded back. The two walked faster, Lily just ahead while Harry trailed close behind her, his small, frozen hand hanging on tight to her warm, mittened one. He kept trying to swallow back the vomit but it just made him want to puke more.

"Do you think you can make it through the rail train ride home?" Lily asked.

Harry quickly shook his head, there was no way he'd last that long.

"Alright" she said worriedly. She took a quick look around until she a spotted a group of bushes in front of a large, corporate looking building. "Here, let's go in there".

Harry quickly dashed over to the bushes and leaned over, allowing the long suppressed, foul smell liquid to come pouring out of his mouth and into the bushes. His mother was squatted down beside him, rubbing his back and shoulders. Today really couldn't get any worse, could it?

Suddenly they heard a loud screech, like the sound of car tires dragging against the concrete. Harry looked back over his shoulder to see a jet black Lamborghini parked up alongside the road. He recognized it almost instantly.

"Mike?" Lily asked. "What's he doing here?"

Harry could only look over for a moment before he felt his stomach churn, he retched again and his mother's attentions quickly returned to him. The sound of footsteps clapping against the icy sidewalk drew closer and stopped right next to his mother.

"Hey" Mike's voice called worriedly. "Are you guys alright?"

"Yes" he heard his mother reply. "Harry's just a bit ill that's all, he threw up at school today and I had to go get him".

"Threw up? Why didn't you call me? I would have gotten him!" Mike argued.

"Don't be silly Mike I'm his mother, besides you're busy. You wouldn't have had time" he heard his mother reply as she squeezed his shoulder. At the moment, all he could focus on was retching as much out of his body as possible.

"I would have made time, you know that" Mike grumbled. "Did you get someone to cover for you for the night?"

"Of course" she replied. She turned back to Harry, "Are you done darling?"

Harry took a deep breath and got shakily to his feet. "Yeah" he replied weakly leaning up against his mother. "It tastes gross".

"Well, I can't imagine stomach acid tastes too good, you alright Pygmy?" Mike asked him.

Mike's dirty blond hair was windblown and his face looked unusually clean shaven, minus of course the goatee which he always had. His eyes, a combination of bright blue and gray, scanned Harry with a look of concern. His Armani leather winter coat was nearly covered in soft white snow while most of his face was covered with a soft, wool black scarf.

"Hi" Harry replied weakly, his body shaking as he stood back up. "I thought you were at work".

"I was actually on my way back from work when I spotted you two" he admitted pulling off his black leather gloves. He felt Harry's forehead and neck briefly. "You're burning up".

"I know" he said. "Guess I'm pretty sick, huh?"

"Well I'd say so" he said as Lily passed Harry her gloves and scarf.

"But mum...don't you nee-" Harry asked.

"Don't be silly, you need them more" she replied. "You're the sick one after all"

"Whoa, whoa wait" Mike cut in. "You guys aren't walking all the way to the subway are you?"

"It's not far" Lily insisted.

"What are you crazy?" he snapped. "It's below freezing, you have no gloves or scarf and Harry's just finished puking his guts out, there's no way on earth I'm going to allow you two to take the train home. Get in, I'm driving you".

"Would you? That would be wonderful thank you so much" Lily insisted.

Mike suddenly grabbed Harry and carried him over to his car. It was nice and warm inside and the warm leather felt wonderful against his chilled body. He wouldn't have moved anywhere for all the money in the world. "It's no trouble" he replied.

Lily gave Harry a sideways glance and he nodded. He'd much rather take the car then walk. Lily climbed into the front seat and Mike into the driver's seat.

"Thank you again for driving us" she replied.

"Don't mention it" he said. "It's no problem at all, besides it's best that we get Harry home as soon as we can and my car's much faster".

Mike unwrapped his scarf and draped it over Harry's shivering form. "That help any Pygmy?" Mike asked.

Harry nodded, curling up into the scarf. "A bit" he replied. "Thank you".

"Don't worry love" Lily said reaching over her chair and stroking Harry's face fondly. "We'll be home soon".

-0-

Mike's car pulled over at a quaint brick building in Inwood and Mike pushed the buzzer on the door as Lily gathered a half asleep Harry from the back seat. There was a click and Mike allowed Lily to step inside first and followed in close behind.

The building entrance was quaint. The walls were adorned with white wall paper and was brightly lit by a row of florescent lights. A Christmas wreath hung from the inside of the door the walls were decorated with red and green tinsel and a small community tree sat in the corner near the elevator.

Harry caught sight of their neighbor, Dean Wills, checking his mail as they walked in and he turned to wave to them as they entered.

"Hey Lily, you guys are back early" he greeted. He looked over at Mike and arched an eyebrow. "Mike too. Must be a special occasion".

Dean was about average height for a man with almond shaped dark eyes, black hair and a goatee and the slightest hint of a five o'clock shadow. His square glasses were balanced precariously on his arched nose. He was bundled up in a black overcoat, scarf and wool gloves and covered which appeared to be covered in snow.

"Thanks Dean" Mike replied coolly.

"Sure thing" Dean replied.

"You're actually home a bit early" Lily asked. "Something up?

"Kinda" Dean replied shutting his mailbox door and stuffing a small pile of envelopes into his coat pocket. "Mary Margret's sick so I got Kyle to cover for me for the night. I'm off to get her some Tylanol".

"Oh, the poor dear, I hope she feels better" Lily said. "It was very nice of you to do that for her".

Dean turned pink. "Yeah well...she's always been there for us so I thought hey, I'll be nice for once" he said.

"I wish you'd just ask her out" Mike said.

"That's what you did with Lily and look how that turned out" Dean said shrugging.

Mike rolled his eyes.

"Completely different circumstances" Lily insisted.

"Eh, we'll see" Dean said craning his neck to get a good at Harry who was cuddled into his mother's chest. "So what's going on with short stop here? Feelin' a little under the weather too huh?"

Harry nodded. "I threw up in class today" he replied weakly.

"Yikes, well I've been there and done that and trust me, it ain't pretty" he replied.

Harry nodded. "I know" he said laughing weakly.

"Well I've gotta go...get medicine and check on Mary Margret" Dean said.

"And we need to get you upstairs for a bath" Lily said. "Have a nice night Dean".

"Same to you" Dean replied as the elevator dinged and they stepped inside.

The elevator ride seemed longer than usual, Mike was talking to his mother about someone he'd met at his job as Harry watched the flashing red light ascend with every ding from over his mother's shoulder. First floor, he wondered half-heartedly if there were elevators like this one in England where his father lived? Second floor; he wondered where his father worked, was he a journalist like his mother? The red light slowly ascended, much longer than Harry remembered it ever being before. Fourth, fifth, sixth floor until at last...seventh floor. There was loud ding and the sliding metal doors opened to reveal an elegant marble paved hallway. They were home at last. Harry followed his mother over to their apartment door, number 712, and waited patiently for her to open the door. He was so tired he could barely stand up straight. There was a click and Lily pushed the door open.

"Go on in love" she said giving Harry a tiny push forward. "You're covered in vomit, why don't we give you a bath and then you can go to bed for a little nap"

Harry nodded, for the first time ever, a nice warm bath and bed sounded really good. "Yeah" he said. "That sounds great".

Lily grinned and kissed his cheek.

"What about you Mike?" Harry asked weakly. "Are you going to stay?"

Mike shook his head. "No, not for long" he replied. "I'm going to go ahead and make some lunch for your mom and chat with her for a while before I go".

Harry nodded. "Okay" he said. "Just don't go without saying goodbye".

Mike grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it Pygmy" he said ruffling up Harry's messy jet black hair.

-0-

If Mike was in the kitchen preparing lunch then Harry couldn't smell it, which was just fine for him as the smell of food just seemed to make him ill. His mother turned the knob on the bathroom faucet as the last few drops of steaming hot water fell into the full bath.

"Alright love" she said folding up Harry's clothes as he passed them to her. "It's all ready".

"Thank you" Harry said. He stepped into the warm water gingerly; his right toe first, then his foot, then his left toe and foot until he was adjusted enough to settle comfortably inside the warm water. Harry felt as though he could just melt inside the warm water, which felt like heaven after shivering in the freezing cold and being soaked in vomit.

"How does that feel?" his mother asked running her hand through the water. "Better?"

"Much better" Harry replied as he laid back against the back of the tub.

His mother smiled as she pulled a washcloth out of the nearby cabinet and wet it down in the bathwater.

"You're not gonna wash me are you?" Harry moaned sitting up. "I don't want a bath, I just want to lie here".

"Well I'm sorry sweetheart but after vomiting all over yourself like you did earlier, you need it" she said dousing the washcloth in soap. "Close your eyes"

Harry sighed and shut his eyes tight as his mother washed his face and behind his ears.

"Alright" Lily said. "Clean yourself off then".

Harry doused his face in water and rubbed his nose. "Yuck, I hate baths".

Lily giggled as she moved a piece of wet, jet black hair from Harry's tired eyes, bright green. "It's astounding just how much you look like your father" she replied. "Yet you're nothing like him".

Harry sat up in the bath and rested his wet chin on the edge of the bathtub. "Is that a bad thing?" he asked.

"Of course not!" Lily replied looking shocked. "Harry trust me, you don't want to be like your father. He's a spoiled, selfish, cheating, arrogant-"

"Why do you hate dad so much?" Harry cut in.

Lily sighed and set the soapy washcloth down. Just the thought of his father seemed to make her angry. "You know why Harry" she said.

"I mean...I know why it's just..." he sighed. "He's still my dad".

Lily sighed. "Maybe by blood he is Harry but I tell you that in all other meanings of the word James Potter is no more your father than the Prince of Wales" she replied. "And that's the truth".

"He doesn't even know I exist, does he?" Harry asked.

Lily snorted. "Pfft, as if he'd even care" she replied coldly.

Harry clinched his fists. He knew he was supposed to hate his father for what he'd done to him and his mother but there just something about the situation that didn't make it feel right. He'd never even met his father before so how could he make a judgement?

"I don't know, he's still my dad after all so...he's still part of me isn't he?" Harry asked.

Lily shrugged. "I don't know" she replied. "If he is, I don't see that part of him in you that's for sure".

"You don't...think I'll ever see him?" Harry asked.

Lily snorted. "If you're lucky you'll never have to" she replied. "People like him Harry they're just...no good, but enough about him now hmm? Besides you don't need your father anyway, you have Mike remember?"

"But Mike's not my real dad" he said. "I mean...why does he even put up with us anyway?"

"Put up with us? Harry what are you talking about?" Lily demanded. "I realize you're sick but still, that's no way to talk about Mike after all he does for you. Who told you such a horrible thing?"

Harry bit his lip. "Marcus Way" he replied. "He told me that".

Lily grinned. "Oh he's just trying to cause trouble" she said. "Mike is more of a father to you than James will ever be. He does love you, really".

"Funny" Harry replied coldly. "He's never told me".

Lily giggled. "Darling that's just how men are" she said. "And Mike's no different, actions speak louder than words. If I had known that a few years ago I would have known better than to bother with your father but if I hadn't I wouldn't have gotten you so...I can't say I really regret it now can I?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I guess not" he replied.

Lily stroked his cheek fondly. "Of course not" she confirmed. "Enough of this though, why don't we finish cleaning you up and then maybe put you down for little nap? You look exhausted".

-0-

After the bath Harry followed his mother out of the bathroom but one whiff of lunch wafting from the kitchen had sent him reeling in the bathroom again.

"And after we just took a bath" Lily sighed as Harry leaned over the toilet bowl. She wiped his face down with a piece of toilet paper. "Oh well, it can't be helped".

"Sorry" Mike apologized. "I didn't know it was this bad".

"It's alright" Lily said.

"I can't believe there's anything left to puke up" Mike said.

"Urgh" Harry gagged. "It tastes so gross".

"No," Lily said kissing Harry's cheek. "It's all just stomach acid now, nothing left, poor thing".

"Hey" Mike said. "Why don't you go eat? I'll take it from here".

Lily looked down at Harry. "You sure?" she asked.

Mike nodded. "Yeah" he said. "I'm positive".

-0-

While Lily was in the kitchen eating lunch Mike had taken Harry into his room to prepare him for bed.

"But it's still afternoon" Harry asked as Mike helped button up his pajama shirt. "Why do I have to wear these?"

"Because, trust me" he said pulling the covers of his bed back . "You won't be getting out of bed for the rest of the day, now get in mister".

Harry climbed into bed and cuddled up against his soft, fluffy spiderman pillow as Mike pulled the covers over Harry's shivering body.

"Now I don't want to see you or hear you getting up you hear? You need to sleep" Mike said pulling the curtains over his window.

Harry nodded and Mike took a seat at Harry's side, removed his glasses and set them on Harry's bedside table. He was about to get up to leave again when he suddenly paused, leaned over Harry and felt his neck and forehead again.

"You're roasting" he said. "Are you sure you don't want to try to take some medicine?"

Harry shook his head. "NO!" he said burying himself in his blankets. "I don't want to! It'll make me vomit again!"

"Alright, alright take it easy" he said. "Here's what we'll do, you take a nice nap and we'll see if we can get you to take some you wake up alright? And if you can't down it well...then you can't down it".

Harry peeked over his blankets and nodded. "Mike, when I get better...we'll go ice skating, right?" he asked.

Mike grinned. "Absolutely, first thing" he said. "Rockefeller center?"

"Yeah" Harry said nodding eagerly.

Mike grinned. "You've got it" he said. "Now you get some sleep, alright?"

Harry nodded as Mike kissed his cheek. Harry heard his footsteps as he moved across the room and over to the bedroom door. It opened with a creak.

"Good night pygmy" Mike said.

But Harry didn't reply; he was already fast asleep.

_Meanwhile, nearly half way across the world. . ._

"Ninety-nine bottles of butterbeer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer, take one down, pass it around-"

An office door opened and a tall, slender man with messy jet black hair, glasses and hazel eyes in a sleek black cloak, white collared shirt and black tie stepped into the room, flipping through a stack of forms in his hand a whistling the last few lines of the song that two other men in black and white were chanting. A third man in mostly patched and frayed robes was pretending not to notice them as he turned a page of his newspaper reading the words, THE DAILY PROPHET, in big black bold letters.

"Well" said the first man, James Potter, tossing the documents onto his desk. "I'm glad to see so much is being accomplished here".

"Frank and I were just trying to remember that old drinking song we used to sing in school" the second man, a handsome fellow with dark brown hair and black eyes named Sirius Black, insisted. "We were bored. Did you get the mission statements?"

"I suppose" he said sighing and passing Frank a stack of documents; Frank thanked James and left. "I'm not really sure if you deserve them though".

"Well then could you at least tell me if we're doing anything interesting?" he asked. "I swear if we're stuck babysitting that Veranda girl I'm going snap. Such a waste!"

"Oh, absolutely" James replied. "She's only the sole witness to the biggest murder case we've had in almost ten years. Besides, I thought you liked her".

Sirius snorted. "It was great at first, but then her flirting got a bit annoying after a while" he replied.

James snorted. "You mean after you had shagged her" he replied flipping uninterestedly through the documents.

"Hey!" Sirius snapped. "That's a bit harsh, besides she wanted it not me".

"Yeah, yeah" James replied.

"Hmm, this is interesting, did you read this Prongs?" the third man, Remus Lupin, asked. He wore a rather shabby robes and his light brown hair was already flecked with grey; his arms and legs were bandaged and he had a great gash across his pale face.

"What is it?" James asked looking over at Remus.

"They say there's a new prophecy child" Remus replied.

"Oh please, not this again" Sirius groaned. "Haven't we put this to bed already?"

"Guess not" James replied.

"You remember that death eater we caught last week don't you, Rastenbourgh? Well it looks like they managed to get out of him that You-Know-Who's been slinking around America, where they say the other prophecy child lives" Remus read.

"America?" James asked. "Why on earth would the kid be living there?"

Remus shrugged. "No clue" he replied.

"Is the kid British?" Sirius asked.

Remus nodded.

"Then what's he doing in America?" James asked.

Remus shook his head. "No idea" he replied. "But Prongs, Dumbledore came in while you were gone, said he wanted to see you in Moody's old office".

"Dumbledore?" James asked. "Isn't he at the school right about now?"

Remus nodded. "Yes, but apparently it was rather urgent so he came down to see you" he said.

"Must be" James replied. "No one seems to get as much of a kick out of Hogwarts' Christmases than him, he'd rather not miss it. I'd best go meet him".

"Good luck" Sirius replied as James opened the door. "Hey Moony, what's for dinner?"

"Why are you asking me, I'm not a house elf" James heard Remus reply as he stepped out of the room and shut the door behind him.

-0-

"So, how was the meeting?" Sirius asked as he and Remus met up with James outside of Moody's office about an hour later.

James shrugged. "Nothing special" he replied.

"What was it that was so important" Remus asked.

"Dumbledore asked me to track down that prophecy child" he replied. "Apparently he's in New York city".

"So...he knows who the child is?" Remus asked.

"I suppose so" James said. "But he wouldn't tell me!"

"What?" Remus and Sirius chorused.

"But then...how are we gonna find the kid if you don't even know who he is?" Sirius demanded.

"I don't know!" James moaned. "He just said that I'd know him when I saw him!"

"So...it's a boy?" Remus asked.

James nodded.

"Well...that's a start!" Remus said.

"Oh yeah. a great start" Sirius replied sarcastically. "That only leaves us the entire pre-adolescent male population of New York city".

"You know, there's almost no point in trying to remain optimistic about these things anymore, they all just get shot down anyway" Remus sighed.

"What am I gonna do?" James groaned. "I mean...I can't possibly find the child with no leads".

"You have leads!" Sirius reminded him. "He's a boy and he lives in New York city, remember?"

James groaned.

"I think he means _real_ leads" Remus replied.

"And what does he mean by I'll know him when I see him anyway?" James asked. "What, is the kid gonna be glowing or something?"

"No way" Sirius said. "If it was that easy You-Know-Who would have gotten him already".

"Well, think about it" Remus said. "How do you recognize people James?"

James shrugged. "I dunno, I usually only recognize people I've seen before" he said.

"So" said Remus. "Maybe that's it, maybe you've seen him before".

"Or...or maybe you've seen someone related to, or who knows the kid, before" Sirius suggested.

"Yeah" James pondered. "But...why me?"

"Beats me" Remus and Sirius chorused.

"You never know with Dumbledore" Remus replied. "He's always got some kind of bizarre surprise hidden up his sleeve".

"Yeah" Sirius replied. "Hey, what if he was your son, or something like that?"

"Huh?" James asked.

"Yeah" Sirius joked. "And the only reason you'd be able to recognize him is because he looked just like you!"

Remus laughed and James gave a weak chuckle.

"Sirius, this is New York we're talking about, not the Twilight Zone" Remus said. "James doesn't have any children".

"Yeah me...a father" James said, the enthusiasm in his voice quickly faltering. "That's mental..."

"Could you imagine Prongs as a father?" Sirius teased.

Remus laughed. "Oh Merlin" he said.

"I mean, I could just see it now" Sirius joked.

James tried to throw in a laugh or two as Sirius went on and on, Remus laughing along side him, but it just wasn't there and it wasn't because of the fact that they were making fun of him. Truthfully, in his heart of hearts, he'd always been hoping that out there, somewhere, she had survived and that there was something like that out there for him. What he wouldn't give to have a family of his own. A wife and children just like he'd always planned it. But the woman he'd loved more than anything in the world had left him and he'd never been able to get over her. Despite all their teasing he knew there was no way that prophecy child could possibly be his. He knew just as well as anyone that the night she had left him disaster struck. She had run away, due to...circumstances concerning only him, to her parents' house and, just before James could get to her to get her back, there was an attack. Nothing was left and everyone in the house had been killed including his beloved Lily Evans.

"Hey Prongs" Sirius asked. "You want to go the Leaky Cauldron?"

James shook his head. "Nah" he said. "I'm actually getting kind of tired, what say you guys we just go home?"

"You sure mate?" Sirius asked. "You usually like to go out for a drink after work?"

"Yeah" James said. "It's been a long day, you know? And we've still got to start planning our trip to New York, I mean we have a lot of searching to do, we may as well start trying to find some leads and we should at least find something to do with our down time".

"Oh, alright" Sirius groaned. "Although I'd still like a drin-ouch! What?"

Remus growled at him and gestured to James.

"We're going home" Remus said curtly.

-0-

"Ah, home at last" Sirius announced as he stepped through the door, brushing the snow off of his sleek black cloak

"Padfoot, if you're going to fling snow everywhere could you at least wait until we get inside? You'll get water everywhere" Remus insisted, kicking as much of the rapidly melting powdery ice out of the doorway.

"Don't worry about it Moony" James said shutting the door behind him. He pulled a sleek, polished wooden baton out of the pocket in his work robes and flicked it carelessly at the pile of snow. In an instant the pile began to dissolve until nothing remained but a clean, soft, wool carpet. "See, no harm done".

James hung his cloak up on the nearby coat rack and stepped into the living room.

"Wow, spotless" he noted.

Spotless indeed; not a speck of dust lie anywhere in the grand, airy, living room. The great stone fireplace at the front of the room was scrubbed clean and a stack of thick pieces of wood were stored neatly in the wrought iron firewood holder. The fine woven crest hanging above it was neatly cleaned and ironed. The scarlet couches gathered around it, so comfortable you practically disappeared into them when you sat down, were neatly cleaned. The great scarlet and gold rug was scrubbed, dried and pressed to perfection and the curtains were all neatly dusted. The polished hardwood staircase leading up to the second floor of the house was dusted to perfection.

"Pinky must have been busy today" Sirius noted. "Where is she anyway?"

"Haven't the foggiest" James noted. "I wonder if she cleaned the kitchen too".

"Knowing her, she's probably done the whole house" Remus noted.

"Fantastic" said James. "Now let's just try not to trash it again so quickly this time".

"Right..." Sirius faltered. "So...are we going to eat?"

James nodded. "I'd think so, is Pinky around?" he said glancing from Sirius to Remus.

"Master" they heard a squeaky voice call.

All three men whirred around to see a tiny elf-like creature with large pointed ears and a large pink tomato like nose wearing a spotless floral pillowcase and a tea cozy on her head.

"Ah there you are" James said. "Nice job on the house".

"Pinky always works her hardest to please her master" Pinky squeaked. "Are Master and his friends hungry? What can Pinky make for you?"

James shrugged. "I'm not sure, what do you guys think?" he asked.

"Chicken" Sirius blurted.

"Steak?" Remus asked.

"Steak? We had that last night" Sirius groaned.

"Don't patronize me, the full moon is tonight again and I'm not in the mood" Remus growled.

"So we all have to suffer because you get crabby every once a month?" Sirius demanded.

"Oh yes it must be such a dreadful life, living in the country with all this space in a beautiful home and eating steaks" Remus said sarcastically hanging his coat up on the coat rack.

James sighed. "Every night" he said muttering as he hung his coat up beside Sirius'.

"It's no trouble master" Pinky said. "Pinky can make both".

"Thank you Pinky" James said. "About an hour then?"

"Thirty minutes at most sir" Pinky replied scurrying to the kitchen.

"You two hear that? Thirty minutes at most. Now you can stop your bickering" James said.

"It wouldn't take as long if we didn't have to wait for Moony's steak" Sirius muttered.

Remus rolled his eyes as he laid down on the couch and closed his eyes. "I won't say anything" he replied drowsily.

"You could just eat chicken" Sirius said.

But Remus didn't retort; he was already snoring loudly on the couch. Sirius pulled out his wand and moved towards Remus but James stopped him.

"Just let him sleep, you know why he's crabby" James said sitting cross-legged on the cushy red armchair and began to flip through the papers that Dumbledore had given him. "Besides you're both getting what you want anyway".

-0-

Dinner was brief but delicious nonetheless. As usual Pinky had outdone herself and whatever leftovers there were were packed away. Remus had retired to the shack outback and James and Sirius accompanied him until quite late when Remus the werewolf had fallen asleep they decided to head inside for the rest of the night as it was quite cold. James and Sirius stayed awake for a bit, sitting alone in the den by the raging fire in the fireplace.

"I thought he'd never go to sleep" Sirius said flopping down onto the armchair beside the couch that James was sprawled out onto.

"Well you're being a wonderful friend aren't you?" James said snidely.

Sirius looked stunned. "No need to be rude. What's got your nickers in a twist anyhow?" he asked

James sighed and sat up. "Nothing" he muttered.

Sirius blinked. "Doesn't sound like nothing" he said. "Tell me, you know you can, I'm your best mate after all".

James shrugged. "I don't think you'd understand" he said.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.

James licked his lips and looked over at Sirius. "You...you don't really think I'd make a bad father...do you?" he asked.

"Huh?" Sirius. "What do you mean?"

"What you and Remus said earlier" James said.

"What...that?" Sirius asked. "Oh...aw come on mate, we were just messing around. You know we didn't mean it..."

"But is it true?" James asked. "Do you really think I'd be a bad father?"

Sirius snorted. "Of course I don't! I think you'd be a brilliant father, but why do you suddenly sound so concerned about this?" he asked.

James sighed. "I suppose I didn't tell you this...I've never told anyone this but...it's been bothering me. Before she died, not long before we were supposed to get married, Lily and I...well we slept together" he said.

"Bloody hell, are you serious mate?" Sirius asked. "You mean you shagged her and you never told me!"

"It's not like that!" James snapped. "Yes I did...but it was more than just that. I mean we were in love it wasn't really just a shag".

"I don't know what you're thinking but a shag's a shag to me, no matter who's giving it to you..." Sirius murmured.

"I knew you wouldn't get it!" James scoffed.

"Aw don't be stupid mate I was just kidding" Sirius insisted. "Come on Prongs".

James sighed. "I've just been thinking, ever since you brought that up...what if well...what if Lily was pregnant when she died? What if, right now, I'm supposed to be a father?"

Sirius snorted. "Doesn't matter either way now, does it? I mean Lily's dead now and well...I mean she was the one who-" he babbled.

"I know, I know but still..." James cut in. "I mean what if...by some miracle she's still alive and she and this kid who's supposed to be mine is really out there somewhere?"

"But she's not alive...she's dead" Sirius said.

"I'm not sure I can believe that...not completely anyway. They never found any of her remains" James added.

"Probably because there were none" Sirius said. "Look mate you're over thinking this".

James sighed. "Yeah, I suppose you're right" he replied. "Wishful thinking...".

"I doubt it" Sirius said. "You're probably just stressed".

James chuckled. "Yeah, that's it...stress..." he said ruffling up the back of his already messy jet black hair. An unfortunate old habit of his he'd never quite broken. "I should probably just go to bed, you going too?"

Sirius yawned and stretched out his arms. "Yeah, I suppose so" he replied.

There was a loud pop and a huge bear-like black dog stood where Sirius had once been. It trotted forward and licked James' hand as he knelt down to pet it.

"You have your own room you know" he said. "You don't have to be my watch dog anymore".

The dog shook it's shaggy head and nudged James' hand with it's wet nose, growling at him in a low tone.

"Oh alright then just keep to the end of the bed will you? You don't know how unpleasant it is to wake up to your foul dog breath in the morning" James said opening the door to his bedroom and allowing the big black dog to trot in first with him following.

James was up for a bit longer, flipping through Dumbledore's papers in his bed. Sirius the dog was sprawled out across his bed, his head resting against James' lap, snoring as James stroked his head.

"It's like looking for a needle in a haystack, and in a foreign country too" James noted taking off his glasses. "I don't get it though, why does he want me to do it though? Why should I be able to recognize him over someone else?"

James pushed the idea from his mind as he flicked off the lights and sunk down into his blankets. Sirius the dog opened an eye and looked up at James who had already disappeared in a symphony of loud snores.

_I sure hope that Dumbledore knows what he's doing. I'm not sure if Prongs will be ready to find out the truth yet..._


	2. You're Alive?

**Hello there mah peoples!**

**Okay so I finally managed to finish chapter two, yay! This one's actually a longer chapter than the original, something like twenty four/five pages in my word processor although I don't like it as much as the first, it definitely gets rid of a lot of the issues I had with the first version for sure. Foreshadowing...can you spot it? **

**Enjoy and sorry this took forever, long chapter...**

**UPDATE 12/11/12: Okay so this is the official next chapter. Gone over and done to where I like it.**

* * *

I'm holding on your rope,  
Got me ten feet off the ground  
I'm hearin what you say but I just can't make a sound  
You tell me that you need me  
Then you go and cut me down, but wait  
You tell me that you're sorry  
Didn't think I'd turn around, and say...

It's too late to apologize, It's too late

- Apologize, One Republic

* * *

"HARRY, HE'S HERE!"

It had been a week since Harry had left school sick but now, after enduring countless days of retching up vomit, attempting to sip soda through a straw and downing the nastiest medicine he'd ever tasted, Harry was feeling as good as new which meant, after five long days, the Christmas break had officially begun. Today his mother and Mike were taking Harry to Central Park to partake in Harry's favorite past time of all, ice skating.

"COMING!" Harry called.

He raced around his room, searching everywhere for the ice-skates Mike had given him a year ago for Christmas. Harry had known how to skate since he was four years old courtesy of Mike who was an avid hockey fan and eager to get Harry on the ice from the moment he'd been able to walk. Harry tore through the enormous pile of dirty laundry he had stuffed in his closet until he suddenly spotted the metal blade from the bottom of one of his ice skates sticking out from behind a green long-sleeved shirt. He pulled the skate free and then reached down into the mess until he felt his hand fall over the blade of it's twin. With his skates in hand, Harry eagerly tore down the hallway where his mother and Mike were waiting by the door. Mike was in his signature Armani leather and black scarf while his mother who was grabbing Harry's school bag from the closet, was wearing her favorite high collar buttoned winter coat and gold and red scarf.

"Sheesh, took you long enough Pygmy" Mike commented.

"Sorry" Harry replied. "I couldn't find my skate".

"Well if you'd clean your room once in a while..." Lily noted unzipping the bag.

"I will!" Harry insisted. "But it's not as if I've had time! I was sick remember?"

Lily kissed his cheek. "I know, I'm just teasing you, you need to do that when we get home though" she said.

"Where's Gracia?" Harry asked. "I thought you said she was coming?"

"She couldn't, she's too busy getting ready for the wedding" Mike replied.

"Oh yeah" said Harry looking put out. He didn't like having to remember that Mike was getting married and that he'd probably hardly ever see him anymore.

"Hey" Mike said nudging Harry. "Don't give me that face, I'll still see you. Won't I Lily?"

Lily shrugged. "I don't know, will you?" she asked.

Mike sighed. "Look, don't worry about it, let's go have fun alright?" he said.

Lily took Harry's skates from him and tucked them safely into Harry's school bag as Harry pulled on his button up winter coat, mittens and scarf.

"Is everyone ready to go then?" Lily asked slinging the bag over her shoulder..

"I've been ready, it's you guys who are taking long enough" Mike replied.

Lily rolled her eyes and pulled open the door.

"Alright" Lily she said cheerfully "Let's get going".

The three stepped out of the apartment, making their way far more cheerfully than they had done last week, down the white streets of New York. The snow was coming down in light, fluffy puffs on that clear, wintry day; perfect for ice skating. The air was filled with the sounds of a jazz version of Silver Bells as Harry ogled at the passing shops, beaming with brilliant Christmas-time displays of lights, false snow and holly.

"Hey Pygmy, you want up?" Mike asked.

"Yes please" Harry said eagerly.

"Mike, for goodness sake we haven't even walked a whole block yet!" Lily insisted. "And besides you know how I feel about that".

"Don't get your panties in a wad, he'll be fine" Mike replied crouching down and allowing Harry to climb on his shoulders.

"But there's ice everywhere" Lily said. "If you slip and fall..."

"Mum" Harry warned as Mike got steadily to his feet. Harry rose high above Mike and mother so that he got a good look at the snowy city and the dreadful New York traffic. "You're doing it again".

Lily sighed. "I know, I'm sorry it's just...I can't help it".

"What's wrong?" Mike asked. "You don't trust me?"

"Oh don't be silly, of course I do it's just...you know..." she replied swallowing. "Oh just be careful will you?"

"Of course!" Mike replied. "You think I'd let anything happen to my Pygmy?"

Harry looked down at Mike from atop his perch on Mike's shoulders. "Why is it you still call me that?" he asked. "I'm not a pygmy anymore".

"Of course you are" Mike replied.

"No!" Harry insisted. "I checked my height last week and I grew two inches!"

Mike laughed. "Two inches huh?" he asked looking over at Lily and tipping her a wink. She giggled. "You're a regular Andre the Giant now aren't cha Pygmy?"

"Mike!" Harry insisted.

"I'm just teasing you Harry" Mike replied.

Harry fell quiet as his mother and Mike began to chat away about some woman at Mike's office and his gaze averted uninterestedly to the glass window in front of a street-side coffee shop. He watched the café customers and rushed business people run in and out of the store and move slowly along in line. There wasn't anyone of any real interest, a lady in a fur coat holding a big white bag and an espresso, a fellow in a winter coat with big square glasses and a bulbous nose. He was about to look away again when, out of the crowd of people, suddenly someone caught his eye; someone unlike anyone he'd ever seen before. He was a tall thin man who looked to be around his mother's age; he wore a black woolen cloak worn over what appeared to be scarlet covered robes. His horn-rimmed glasses rested slightly askew on his thin nose and he had messy jet black hair that stuck up in the back; just like Harry's did. Two other men, one who was rather good looking with dark brown hair in black robes and black cloak, the other rather ragged looking with prematurely graying light brown hair in a gray cloak and brown robes, were talking to him. Harry leaned over to get a better look at the man who was accepting a steaming cup of coffee in a cup from the sales lady but before the man could return the gaze he felt Mike shake him.

"Hey Pygmy" Mike replied. "Be careful up there, don't lean too far back or you'll fall off".

"Huh?" Harry replied quickly regaining his composure. "Oh right...sorry".

"What were you looking at sweetheart?" Lily asked.

"Wha...it was a man in there it looked just like-" Harry said.

Harry turned around to point the man out but as soon as he turned around the man and his companions were gone.

"Like who Harry?" Lily asked looking over at the window.

Harry shook his head. "No one...it's nothing" he said.

Lily looked back at the window uneasily but Mike shrugged it off. "Must have been a weird coincidence. So Pygmy what'd you ask Santa for this year?" he asked.

Harry grinned. "Some new skates" he replied. "Mine are too small, and a new bike and a puppy".

"A puppy?" Mike said. "Really?"

"Yes" Harry replied. "A big black one".

Mike chuckled. "A big black puppy huh?" he said looking over at Lily who shook her head. "I don't know if Santa can do that. Have you been good this year?"

"Yes!" Harry replied. "Really good, really".

"Oh, is that so?" Mike replied. "That's not what I heard. I heard you got into a fight last week".

Harry felt his face turn red. "You heard about that?" he asked guiltily.

"Of course I did" Mike replied. "Harry, what were you thinking?"

"He started it not me!" Harry replied.

"Harry, that's no excuse" Mike said. "You can't go around picking fights like that".

"But he picked it not me!" Harry insisted. "He made fun of mum and said that the only reason you hung around me and mum was because you were putting up with us".

Mike blinked. "He said that?" he asked.

Harry nodded.

"Little bast-"

Lily glared at him and he stopped himself. "I mean...that wasn't right of him. Harry you know that's not true don't you?" Mike said. "You know I love being with you and your mom".

"But why?" Harry asked. "You're not my dad or anything".

Mike shrugged. "Close enough" he replied.

Harry opened his mouth to speak but before he could Mike hoisted him off of his shoulders and set him carefully on the ground.

"We're almost to the entrance and the stairs are slippery. I wouldn't want you to fall off and break your neck if I tripped" he replied ruffling Harry's hair.

Harry nodded as he followed his mother and Mike down into the depths of the subway. It was even colder here than it was up top and hundreds of people were passing busily through the damp concrete winding passageways. Old ripped posters and billboard ads were slapped carelessly on the cold stone walls.

They stopped for a bit to stand in line. Lily handed over ten dollars for four round trips to Central Park and back and the four of them made their way down the subways. As Harry was sliding his ticket through the acceptor he caught a glimpse, out of the corner of his eye of the same group of men from back in the coffee shop. They were standing in the far back disputing over what appeared to be a subway map. The handsome man pointed to the left and snapped something at his brown haired companion who shook his head and gestured to the right. The man in glasses snatched the map from the handsome man and, after a careful examination proceeded to the right with the other two following him.

"What are you looking at Pygmy?" Mike asked taking the backpack from his mother as she tucked their return tickets inside the front pocket.

"Er...nothing" Harry replied. "It was just a man that's all. He looked really familiar".

"Did he?" his mother asked as they stopped in front of the tracks where the train was due to arrive. "Where have you seen him?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm not sure" he replied. "I mean...I guess it's not important".

Mike ruffled up Harry's already messy jet black hair and tipped him a wink.

"Pay attention Pygs, we wouldn't want you to fall onto the tracks by accident" Mike replied.

"I'm not that clumsy!" Harry insisted.

"I don't know, you could just be walking by, looking at the guy over there and the next thing you know..."

Harry suddenly felt someone give him a playful shove towards the track ditch and let out a cry of shock as Mike laughed. Lily looked as though she were about to claw his eyes out.

"Stop it" Lily snapped pulling Harry into a hug. "Don't joke around about that! What if he really had fallen in?"

"You are so paranoid" Mike chuckled squeezing Harry's shoulder. "It was only a joke, you know I wouldn't really let him fall in".

Lily sighed. "I never know with you Mike" she said sounding exasperated.

"You know I'm just kidding" he replied. "Calm down".

"I will not calm down...you almost killed my son" Lily muttered.

"And this is why we broke up" Mike said rolling his eyes.

The train suddenly pulled up with a screeching halt and passengers began to pour out and take off in all different directions. Lily took Harry's hand tightly as they waited for an entrance to clear open. Mike boarded first with Lily and Harry close behind him and took a seat to the left of Lily and Harry took the seat to her right.

Harry didn't say much as they boarded the train, his mind was suddenly full again of the reality of Mike's upcoming marriage. Mike had been so distant since he got his promotion and his engagement. Mike would probably forget all about him once he settled down. He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice someone tapping his shoulder. Harry turned around to see, to his surprise, the man who looked just like him from earlier. Closer up Harry could see that his eyes were a light shade of brown behind his horn rimmed glasses.

"Sorry" he apologized.

He had the same funny accent as Harry did.

"I accidentally dropped my quill, could you pass it to me? It's under your chair" he asked.

Harry stared at him, too stunned to move. He'd been itching to see the man all day today and now here he was, sitting right beside him on the train and he was actually talking to him.

"Er...are you alright?" the man asked looking confused.

Harry snapped out of his trance and quickly nodded.

"Your quill...right sure!" he replied. "Sorry".

Harry felt around under his chair for a bit and felt his hand fall over something soft, like a feather. He retrieved it and sure enough, it was a light brown hawk feathered quill. A quill? Harry thought, didn't these only exist in movies, why didn't he have a pen?

"Is this it?" he asked.

"Yes" the man. "Thank you very much".

Harry nodded and looked forward as the man retook his seat; but he just couldn't let it alone. There was something about this man...something he was just itching to know.

"You talk kind of funny, you know?" Harry suddenly blurted. The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

The man looked over at him and blinked. "Come again?" he asked.

Harry turned red. "I mean...the way you talk...it's kind of different" he mumbled

The man chuckled. "Oh really?" he asked.

"I mean...I don't hear it very much. I talk like that too" Harry replied quietly.

The man nodded. "Yes you do" he replied. "We all talk like that where I'm from".

"Where are you from?" Harry asked curiously.

"Britain" the man replied. Britain, just like his mother. "Are you from there?"

Harry shook his head. "No" he replied, a bit more confident now. "I'm from here. My mum is from there though".

The man raised his eyebrows. "Really?" he asked. "What part, do you know?"

Harry shook his. "I don't know, I've never been there before" he replied.

"At all?" he asked. "Ever?"

Harry shook his head. "Is it nice there?" he asked.

The man shrugged. "It's not too different from here" he replied simply.

"Oh" Harry replied sounding a bit put out. The man turned back to his paper and Harry turned pink. He had to think of something to say quickly.

"We're going ice skating" he suddenly blurted. "I've been really sick so this is the first time I've been outside since school let out" he said.

"Oh?" the man said looking up from his paper. "I'm sorry to hear that, it must have been very unpleasant".

"Yeah" Harry replied uneasily. "I vomited a lot".

The man chuckled. "Well that's no fun" he said. He looked up at Lily and Mike who were deep in conversation. "Are those your parents?"

"That's my mum and Mike" Harry said.

"Mike?" the man asked cocking an eyebrow. "Seems a bit odd that you call your own father by his first name".

Harry cocked an eyebrow. "Mike isn't my dad" he replied.

The man turned red. "Oh..." he faltered. "Well where is he? At work?"

"My dad left my mum before I was born so I've never met him before" Harry replied. "Mike is my mum's friend but he's a bit like my dad".

"That's too bad...I'm sorry about that" the man replied.

Harry suddenly felt a nudge on his shoulder and his mother whispered in his ear. "Harry" he whispered. "Don't bother that poor man, let him do his work".

The man shook his head. "No, no it's fine! Really, I don't mind. He's really quite..." he began, but the moment that he and Lily locked eyes his voice faltered. "Adorable".

"Right" Lily replied looking shocked. "Well...thank you very much".

"You're welcome" the man replied. He gave Lily a sideways glance. "Have I-?"

"No" Lily replied quickly looking down at the ground. "No, I don't think we've met before".

The man nodded. "Right...of course" he replied looking a bit disappointed. "Silly of me, not sure what I was thinking..."

The train suddenly came to a screeching halt and Mike got to his feet. "We're here guys" he announced.

"Come along sweetheart" Lily said offering Harry her hand.

"Have fun" the man said waving to Harry as he followed his mother off the train. "It was nice to meet you".

"You too" Harry said. "Thank you".

As they stepped out of the train Harry took a final look back at the man, who all at once looked very sad. Was it something that his mother had said? Whatever the reason he still had forgotten to ask the one thing he'd itching to know all day long, what was the man's name? His mind was made up; he just couldn't leave without knowing who the man was and he probably had just enough time to jump back on the train quick and leave before the doors closed. Just as they were walking out Harry suddenly broke free of his mother and dashed back into the lightrail.

"What's your name?" he called to the man.

The man and his friends all looked up the man blinked and pointed at himself. "Me?" he asked looking confused.

Harry nodded eagerly.

"James" the man called back. "James Potter".

"Potter?" Harry called. Excitement exploded in the pit of his stomach; he couldn't believe it, that was his father's name he was certain of it and there was no doubt in his mind from the man's identical jet black hair to his dated brown shoes that this man was definitely his father. "Potter?" he called back. "R...really?"

The man nodded. "Yes" he replied looking confused. "Do you know me from somewhere?"

Harry nodded his head. "Yes" he replied eagerly. "I'm-" he began but before he could finish telling James his name Mike burst in and pulled him out of the lightrail just as the doors were closing in on him. His mother looked as white as a sheet as Harry watched disappointedly from the sidelines as the train disappeared down the tunnel.

"Are you out of your mind?" Mike burst.

"Don't you ever do that again" Lily scolded grabbing Harry's hand roughly. "Thank goodness Mike was there or those train doors have closed and we wouldn't know where to find you".

"But-" Harry tried. "But that man, he said his name was James Potter, just like dad. That was him wasn't it mum?"

Mike looked over at Lily who shifted uncomfortably.

"Leave it alone Harry" she said giving his hand an affectionate squeeze. "Let's not talk about him right now and just try to enjoy ourselves. It's the first day of winter break that you haven't been really sick so let's have a good time alright sweetheart?"

"Do you think we'll see him again?" Harry asked.

"I don't know Harry" Lily replied, her voice growing tense.

Harry was still in shock. It was his father, he'd finally met his father after seven years of dreaming, his father was not longer just an imaginary figure he heard about from his mother or Mike, he was real. A real man and surprisingly kind too. Yet at the same time, he seemed so very sad.

"He looked sad" Harry noted. "I wonder what happened".

"I'm not sure" Lily replied icily. "Maybe his girlfriend left him. I don't know and nor do I really care to be honest".

"And what's the problem Harry?" Mike . "What am I not good enough for you?"

Harry blinked. "Huh?" he said. "No that's not what I mea-"

But before he could finish Mike grabbed him and attacked him with tickles. Harry squirmed and and kicked, trying to break free until he collapsed on the floor, howling with laughter.

"No...Mike...ha ha, st...stop it!" he said between laughter. His ribs were beginning to hurt from laughing so hard and the ground was wet and gross.

"You both are so silly" Lily said smiling and shaking her head. "But Harry love get off the floor it's all dirty".

"Mike's the one who's being silly!" Harry argued as Mike released him and got to his feet. "He tickled me first!"

"Me?" Mike said. "You're the one who ran back into the train after some guy you've never met before in your life".

"It was dad!" Harry insisted.

Lily swallowed and Harry felt her squeeze his hand. It was obvious, despite Harry's enthusiasm, that she wasn't too keen on continuing the conversation. An awkward silence fell over them, Lily had gone very quiet, she seemed somewhere between angry and upset.

"So...what are we going to do when we get there? Can we play tag?" Mike asked.

"No, you remember what happened the last time we all played tag don't you? You nearly got run over" Lily said.

"That was freeze tag!" Harry defended. "We just won't stop all the time like that this time".

Mike shrugged. "Sounds good to me" he replied.

Lily nudged him with her elbow. "That's only because you want to play as much as him" she replied.

"Of course" Mike replied. "Tag on ice skates is the best".

"It's also the most dangerous" Lily said.

"Don't worry Lily" Mike said. "Nothing will happen I promise".

"And if it does I'll hold you personally responsible" Lily replied curtly.

"Yes your highness" Mike said rolling his eyes and causing Harry to snort in laughter.

Back out onto the streets of New York which were brightly decorated and lit with various shades of white, red, green and gold; Lily, Harry and Mike had stopped for a coffee while Harry got a hot chocolate and took in the stop lights and their wires were decorated in holly and all around shoppers were bustling in and out of shops all adorned with holiday displays. One in particular caught Harry's eye, Duncan's Toy store. Two plastic reindeer were standing in a display of false cotton snow. Bright boxes in glittery wrapping paper and bright colored bows were strewn about the ground. Hanging from the antlers of one of the reindeer were the nicest pair of ice skates Harry had ever seen. Sleek silver blades glistened in the bright blinking multicolored lights, the boots were black and thickly reinforced and padded and a red lightening bolt pattern was sown onto the sides of them.

"Mike, Mike come here!" Harry said dragging Mike towards the display and pointed towards the skates as Mike attempted to pay for their drinks. "Aren't they wicked?"

"Hang on Pygmy, I'm trying to pay" Mike said sounding exasperated.

"But you've got to see!" Harry insisted.

"Here, why don't you show me?" Lily said following Harry over to the display.

"Aren't they wicked?" Harry said eagerly pressing his face against the glass.

"They are nice, but you already have ice skates" Lily said.

Harry nodded. "They do but..." he looked over at the skates longingly. "These are so much cooler and besides...mine are too small again".

Lily shook her head and kissed Harry on the crown of his head. "Come on silly" she said leading him away. "We should try to get to the rink before it gets too crowded".

Harry took one last longing look before following his mother e away from the display where Mike was waiting. Harry received a piggyback ride from Mike the rest of the way to the rink while the three of them played alphabet eye spy.

"A...apple" Mike said pointing to a woman standing near a bench passing her son a green apple. "Okay Lily, you next".

"B then is it?" Lily asked. "Hmm...alright then...building".

Lily pointed to a nearby skyscraper.

"Building?" Mike asked. "That's not a building, it's a sky scraper".

"Same thing" Lily said. "Besides I had B, there's not much for me to pick from" Lily defended.

"Me, me now, me next! I have one!" Harry interrupted eagerly.

"Alright, alright kid" Mike said. "You've got the floor, shoot".

"Cab" Harry said pointing to a taxi cab that was just driving away. "Okay Mike...you have D".

"D?" Mike said. "Alright dummy".

"Dummy?" Harry asked. "Where do you see a dummy?"

Mike suddenly stopped and grabbed Harry off of his back and began to attack him with tickles. "I was thinking about this one right here" he said playfully as Harry howled with laughter.

"No, Mike...stop please it tickles..." Harry begged through tears of laughter.

"I dunno, what did you say dummy?" Mike teased.

"I said...it tickles..." Harry said in between fits of laughter.

"Alright James that's enough" Lily said half laughing herself. Mike released Harry and both of them looked at each other and then over at Lily.

"What did you just call me?" Mike asked. "Did you just call me James?"

Harry looked over at his mother who suddenly turned bright red. "James? Did I say that? I'm sorry...I mean to say Mike. Urgh, all this cold weather, it's not good for me" she said. "Besides we're here and we don't want you two horsing around while we're in line".

Mike looked over at Lily with a puzzled expression which she didn't return. She grabbed Harry's hand defiantly and pulled him ahead of Mike, a hard expression on her face. She was definitely set on his father today even if it was in a negative way.

"Lily" Harry heard Mike whisper jogging to catch up with them. "What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing" she hissed as Harry looked away from them. "It was just a slip of the tongue, let it go".

"You're really on that guy today aren't you?" Mike hissed.

"I am not" Lily snapped. "And what do you care? Are you jealous? Because if you are there's little about him to be jealous of".

"I thought you were finished with him" Mike hissed. "We talked about this".

"I am! I despise him" Lily said. "I would never go back to him, it's over between James and I, just as much as it is between the two of us".

"Hey, I'm just stickin' around for him" Mike said motioning to Harry. "If you weren't one of my best friends and the mother of my favorite little buddy, I don't think I'd even be here right now".

"No, you'd probably be with your fiance" Lily said coolly.

"Not likely" Mike replied. "It's her wedding dress shopping today and she doesn't want me there, besides that wedding stuff gives me a headache. Just as long as I don't end up married in a pink tux with some fluffy Rococo decor all over the place I'll be fine.".

Harry was silent, first his father now having to hear about Mike's marriage. Harry really wanted nothing more to do with this conversation and wished more than anything to be on the train for just a bit longer to talk to James.

"Is something wrong Harry?" his mother asked. "You're rather quiet".

"I'm fine" Harry said quietly. "I just...want to go in".

"Alright well we're almost there" she said kissing his cheek.

When their turn came at last Mike paid the man at the door and in return received three white tickets printed with a date and a snowflake pattern along with a wad of change. As they passed through the line to get into the rink a man in a cab hat checked their tickets briefly and allowed them to pass.

"Have a good time" he said ripping off the bottom of their tickets and handing Mike the stubs.

"Thank you" Lily said cheerfully.

Every corner of the Rockefeller ice rink was jam packed. Families with small children, large groups of friends, couples, were all dashing on and off the ice and in and out of the changing rooms. Rudolf the Red nosed Reindeer blared from the speakers towering overhead and overlooking the skaters was the gold plated statue of Prometheus surrounded by mountainous trees all decorated in shades of bright red and gold.

"Alright come on Pygs, you come with me and we'll get your skates put on" Mike said taking his hand.

"I'll meet you both outside by the front gate, is that okay?" Lily asked.

"Sounds like a plan, see you in a second" Mike said.

Harry was half expecting him to kiss his mother again but Lily simply gave Mike a quick nod and kissed Harry on the cheek before disappearing into the crowd of women dispelling into the women's changing room. Harry instead followed Mike into the men's changing room. They weaved through the crowded dressing room until they finally found a vacant bench and an empty locker into which they disposed their shoes and backpack. Harry had remained completely silent, his mind full again of his encounter with the man on the train.

"Alright, something's wrong" Mike said lacing up his left skate and moving over to his right one. "You've been awfully quiet".

Harry blinked at Mike and shook his head. "No, no it's nothing" he said pulling off his shoes and grabbing for his skates.

"Here" Mike said. "Let me".

Harry passed Mike his skates and allowed Mike to slip his left foot into it's proper skate. "Thank you" he said.

"No problem" Mike said.

Harry bit his lip. "That man on the train" he said. "That was my dad wasn't it?"

Mike paused. "Harry you should just let that go" he said.

"Why does mum hate my dad so much?" he asked. "What did he do that was so bad? I mean I know there was something about a letter but..."

Mike sighed as he tightened up Harry's skate and he winced. "Too tight?" Mike asked.

Harry shook his head and Mike tied up his skate moved onto his left foot. "He was just...he was just a real sleaze that's all I can say" he said. "He wasn't very...he did something really awful to your mom" he replied.

"She didn't even tell him about me" Harry said.

"Trust me Harry" Mike said. "He wouldn't care".

Harry swallowed, his mother had said the same thing. He looked over to see a boy a few years younger than him being helped off a bench by his father, an older looking fellow with graying black hair, he wondered if his dad would have taken him ice skating if he'd known him.

"Hey" Mike said touching his chin. "Don't worry about it, even if that guy was your father, he didn't recognize you even though you look just like him".

Harry rested his head on his knee. "You know there was a long time, when I was little, when mum wouldn't even look at me, it's probably because I look just like dad. She was still with me, she still hugged me and kissed me and acted like mums should but she wouldn't look at me when she didn't have to" he said.

"Really?" Mike said. "I never even noticed that".

"Do you think she hates me Mike?" Harry said. "Do you think she hates me because I look like dad?"

"What?" Mike asked sounding astounded. "Harry that's crazy! Of course your mom doesn't hate you! She adores you! I mean...I've never seen a mother more crazy about her son".

"Then why would she? Why does she...I mean I know she's upset and everything but he is my dad, he's still part of me right?" Harry asked.

Mike shook his head. "No, not necessarily" he replied. "I mean, I understand you're upset because of the position you're in but-"

"I just don't see why I should hate him" Harry said. "He never did anything to me".

Mike shrugged. "Well, maybe not directly" he said.

Harry cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"Well, he did something awful to your mother, left her and then never cared to answer anything she sent to him. You know she sent him all kinds of letters all time she was here telling him all about you from the week she got into New York up until the day you turned two. She even wrote him the day you were born, and she was drugged up and exhausted. She cranked out a full two pages about nothing but you but did he care? Not at all, never wrote her back, not once" Mike said.

"Well...maybe it got lost or..." Harry said.

"I doubt it" Mike replied.

Harry gave an exasperated sigh, he'd never be able to get Mike or his mother to understand but how could they. They weren't related to the man that they kept slamming and he knew that his mother was angry with his father but his mind was still full of all photographs and stories his mother used to tell him of his father when they were young.

"Look it doesn't matter about your father" Mike said. "You've still got me and you always will alright kid?"

"Probably not" Harry said turning away from him.

"Hey now, we talked about this" Mike said firmly.

"But you're getting married. You'll have your own family...why would you want me and mum?"

Mike sighed and gave Harry a reassuring grin. "Look, just because I'm getting married to someone else doesn't mean I want going to replace you" he said.

"But you'll have your own kids...you won't need me" Harry explained.

"That is not true" Mike said firmly. "I may have other kids but that will never stop me from loving you do you understand? I mean, you and I have been together for so ".

Harry looked over at him. "Really?" he asked.

"Of course" Mike replied. "I promise you Harry, I will always be there for you, no matter what. You and your mom".

Mike pulled Harry into a tight hug and Harry took in the familiar scent of Armani leather and Mike's cologne.

"Alright now no more frowning you got it?" Mike said.

Harry nodded and managed a smile.

"That's my Pygmy" Mike said. "Alright, so last one on the ice is it".

Harry nodded eagerly. "You're on!" he said quickly.

Harry and Mike eagerly dashed out of the dressing room, running as fast as they could on ice skates and looking quite silly. Lily was already waiting for them by the gate in her brown leather skates.

"Took you two long enough" Lily said as Harry and Mike scrambled for the gate. "In a hurry then?".

"Quick mum open the gate" Harry said. "Let me in!"

"Alright, alright, just a moment" Lily said.

There was a soft click, Lily pushed the gate open and Harry quickly slipped inside just ahead of Mike and Lily.

"You little cheater" Mike said.

Harry grinned cheekily and glided forward a bit; he was glad to be back on the ice again, the feeling of the cool breeze on his face as the blades of his skates glided easily over the glossy ice. He made a quick turn on his right foot and turned to face his mother and Mike.

"Alright well I'm it" Mike said. "You guys ready? Now if we get separated everyone remember that this all goes in a circle, so we're bound to meet up eventually. If we really can't find each other go straight to the middle of the ice and we'll meet there, got it?".

Harry nodded and Lily slid up beside him, whispering a plan to confuse Mike in his ear as Mike counted out loud. The moment they heard him shout one, Lily and Harry took off into the sea of skaters.

"Is he following us yet?" Harry asked as he and his mother darted easily across the ice.

Lily shook her head. "No" she said looking behind her. "I don't even see him".

"What do you mean?" Harry asked coming to a quick stop. "Isn't he behind us?"

Lily stopped just behind Harry and grabbed his shoulder. "No, I don't see him" she said. "Where did he go?"

"GOTCHA"

Suddenly Harry felt someone grab him from behind him.

"Mike!" Harry gasped. "H...how did you find us?"

"I just waited for you two to go around the circle silly" Mike said ruffling up Harry's already messy jet black hair. "Alright you're it kid".

"Brilliant" said Harry. "This'll be easy!"

"Well you sound confident don'tcha?" Mike said.

"Don't worry love we'll try and stay close. Remember if you can't find us go straight to the middle" Lily said.

"Yes mum I know" Harry said.

He turned his back to his mother and Harry and began to count loudly.

"Five, four, three, two, one...HERE I COME" Harry called.

And he was off, weaving skillfully in and out of the huge crowds of people. Every once in a while he would catch sight of his mother or Mike but before he could get to them they would pull ahead and Harry would lose sight of them. The game was rather fun at first but after a while Harry completely lost sight of his mother and Mike and the helpless feeling of being totally lost in a huge crowd of people suddenly began to sink in.

"MUM!" he called skating over to one of the edges. "MIKE!"

But the only reply he got were the sounds of echoing squeals and laughter coming from the huge crowd. Harry's stomach knotted and he began to panic. He stepped away from the edge and began to circle the rink as fast as he could, his heart pounding in his ears. People zoomed past him in colorful blurs and the noise of the crowd and music blaring from the speakers were all beginning to mix together into a loud irritable bleat.

"MUM!" he called frantically. "MUM WHERE ARE YOU?"

It was pointless; the loud noise of the crowd was drowning out his pitiful cries. He had no choice but to look for her himself. He stopped at the opposite edge and grabbed the railing, his mind racing, he couldn't find her anywhere. He felt his eyes sting with tears and he swallowed hard. He'd never felt so alone and scared before...then suddenly he remembered.

"_Remember if you can't find us go straight to the middle"._

The middle. He looked straight ahead and spotted, to his relief, a flash of auburn hair in the midst of the stopped crowd.

"MUM!" Harry called eagerly taking off at full speed towards the middle of the rink, he was so delirious with relief at finally having found his mother again he hadn't even been paying attention to his surroundings. Then suddenly it hit him. It collided into him like a speeding train, so fast Harry couldn't stop himself in time to avoid it and with such a force that he couldn't stop himself. He collided head on and fell with an almost inhuman force onto his ankle. He felt a vicious sting, there was a horrible crack and Harry felt his nose brake as it collided hard with the icy terrain. Blood splattered out over his hands and his face as he slid across the ice and at last came to a slow halt in the middle of the rink. He lay there for a few moments, writhing in pain, tears mixing in with the blood splattered on his face and on the ground.

"Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry, you came of nowhere!" a familiar voice asked worriedly. "Are you alright?".

Harry could tell by the sound of his voice that the man who had collided with him was James from the train. James maneuvered around Harry and knelt down at his side looking quite panicked. Harry was shaking and sobbing but he didn't want to make it look like he needed any help. He swallowed his pain, wiped the tears from face and tried to stand but it was pointless, his feet wouldn't hold him up and he tumbled to the ground.

"Just lay back" James advised patting his shoulder. "You'll hurt yourself, just relax. I'll go get help...somewhere".

The crowd around them was growing rapidly as swarms of curious bystanders were all pushing to get a good look at what had happened. Someone from the crowd suddenly took off looking for what Harry hoped was help. He struggled to sit up although just as he was close to getting back up onto his feet a horribly sharp pain coursed through his leg and he fell back again.

"Don't move" James said. "They've gone to get help, you'll be fine".

"Can't...stay..." Harry sobbed. "I've got to find my mum".

"Your mum?" James asked. "Did you lose her?"

Harry nodded.

"Alright" James said patting his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll find her, just hang in there".

The crowd grew and receded a few times, some people stopping to ask Harry if he was okay or to offer help. It felt like an eternity that he was lying there one the icy cold ground waiting for help to arrive.

Suddenly James' two friends skated up behind them.

"Blimey Prongs, what the bloody hell did you do?" the handsome man demanded. "We were supposed to find him, not run him over".

"I didn't see him...he came out of nowhere..." James said, his voice panicky.

"Calm down Prongs" the ragged looking man said. "I'm certain you haven't killed him".

Harry blinked. James had come here looking for him; could it be that James had realized that Harry was his son and he'd come back for him?

"Y...you were looking for me?" Harry asked.

James cocked his head. "Huh? Oh right of course..." he replied. "I couldn't help but remember...why were you asking for my name?"

The handsome man all the sudden looked very nervous and Harry shrugged. "I guess..." he said gasping in pain. "I guess you just...looked like me...like my dad...so I...I thought".

James cocked an eyebrow. "Did you think I was your...your father?" he asked looking bewildered. "I mean I suppose we do look just alike but..."

He shook his head in disbelief. "It just can't be" he replied.

Help finally arrived. Two medics in white coats made their way through the huge crowd, one a woman with very short dark brown hair and the other a man with blond hair.

"EMS coming through" the woman called. "Please stand aside".

When she finally arrived to a bleeding, shaking miserable Harry she knelt down beside him gently as her partner stood aside waiting patiently for her orders.

"Hi sweetie, is everything alright?" she asked.

Harry shook his head.

"What happened did you hit something? Did you slip and fall?" she asked.

Harry shook his head. "I cr...crashed into so...someone..." he said trying to swallow back tears.

"You crashed into someone?" the medic asked.

"Me" James said. "Well we kind of crashed into each other. I don't think he saw me coming and I didn't see him. It was an accident".

"An accident?" the woman asked. "Is that right sweetie?"

Harry nodded.

"Okay then, so what's your name sweetie?" she asked.

"H...Harry Potter" Harry managed to say.

James suddenly gave him a strange look and quickly exchanged looks with Remus who looked as baffled as he did.

"Harry?" the woman asked. "Alright Harry do you know where your parents are? Who'd you come with?" the woman asked.

"My mum...and her fr...friend" he managed to say.

"Your mom? Alright honey what's her name?" the woman asked.

"Lily Evans" Harry said.

James' face suddenly turned white.

"But that can't be, she was killed...my fiancee was killed...my fiancee...my Lily...she died" he said. There was a sudden rush of panic in his voice and his grabbed fist fulls of hair, looking suddenly rather deranged. "She was upset with me one evening and so she went to see her parents. While she was there the house was destroyed and everyone inside was killed".

"But she's m...my mum..." Harry said.

James looked over at Harry. "Then...you must be..." he said. "My son..."

James was gasping for breath and his friend looked as confused as he did.

"How could she not tell me about you?" he demanded.

"She said she did" Harry replied. "She said she...she wro...wrote you lett...letters".

"Letters?" James asked. "What letters? I never got any letters? I've heard nothing from her in seven years. I thought she was dead!".

He looked over at Harry. "Look, you've got to believe me. If I had known I would have come for you both, I never-".

Suddenly the sound of ice skates scraping against the ice approached them and Harry heard his mother let out a cry of horror.

"HARRY" she shrieked.

"What happened?" Mike asked, he looked over at James. "You again?"

Lily looked down at James. "James..." she said breathlessly.

James looked up at her with a look that was somewhere between shock and disbelief. "L..Lily?" he asked. "Is it...you're...you're alive?"

Lily fell down at Harry's side and pulled Harry up into her lap and hugging him. "What did you do to him?" she snapped. "You stay away from my son".

"Your son?" James asked, his voice turning tense. "Don't you mean OUR son?"

"How do you?" Lily asked.

"Don't worry, Harry filled me in. Nice name by the way, not like it wasn't completely obvious considering it was the one you and I picked together for any kids we might have" James asked.

"Stop it" Lily snapped.

"No" James said. "How dare you keep him from me, how dare you lie to me. I thought you were dead Lily. I thought I lost you and now...now Harry...my son's been denied a father because of your arrogance".

"My arrogance?" Lily said, her temper rising. "My arrogance? That's rich coming from you".

"Lily, James, please, I don't think now is the time" Remus insisted.

Mike rolled his eyes made a move towards Harry but the medic's partner stopped him.

"Family members only" he said.

"But..." Mike tried. "He's...you can't do this!"

"Sir, please leave the ice" the medic's assistance insisted.

Mike gave the assistance an irritated glance but left the ice reluctantly.

Harry looked up at his mother who was looking down at him as though it was taking everything she had not to slap James and James seemed to be just as frustrated.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded.

"Well to be quite honest I didn't think you'd care" Lily snapped back.

"Wouldn't care? Why wouldn't I care? For Merlin's sake he's my son" James insisted.

"I'm sure you have plenty of other children back in England" Lily hissed angrily.

"Other children?" James snapped. "You're barking! Lily, you're the only woman I've ever slept with! He's my son...my child! And you didn't tell me?"

"It's none of your concern" Lily snapped back.

"No Lily, I really think it is my concern" he snapped. "All these years I've spent thinking you were dead only to find out you're alive, hidden in the bowels of the biggest city in the United States with the son I've never known about and some...blond sleaze what thinks he's Harry's father-"

"Mike is twice the father you'll ever be" Lily snapped.

"How would you know that?" James demanded. "I never got the chance".

The paramedic had returned her attentions now to Harry who was still shivering and sobbing, his ankle still throbbing with unbearable pain and his parents weren't making it any better. To be honest, this wasn't exactly the family reunion he'd been dreaming of .

"We'll talk about this later, but for now Harry needs attending to" Lily hissed.

"Alright Harry here's what we're gonna do" the medic said. "We're going to try to take your ice skate off so we can see what's going on in there but you have to be really still alright?"

"Did you hear him honey?" Lily asked, her voice was much softer. "Really still alright?"

Harry nodded and after a few moments' hesitation Harry felt a pressure on his skate and a prick of harsh pain coursed through his body and his whole body jerked away from him.

"OW!" Harry cried. "STOP IT, IT HURTS!"

"Harry you have lie still" the medic insisted.

"Come on sweetie" Lily said. "She's trying to help you".

"But it hurts" Harry whined.

"I know it does sweetheart but you have to lie still" Lily said. "Once they take your skate off, they can tell us if you broke your ankle".

"I thought they said I did break my ankle" Harry argued.

"Well they don't know for sure" Lily said. "Just lie still".

"Alright Harry we're gonna try again. Now you have to hold really still alright?" the medic said.

Harry shook his head. "No" he whined. "No, no, no, no".

"Harry please" Lily said, she sounded extremely exhausted. "Just sit still, she's trying to help".

James was completely silent, still too upset to say something perhaps? Harry shook his head and tried to jerk his foot away but the moment he did a sharp pain radiated through his body and let out a cry of pain.

"Harry you need to stop moving" the medic said grabbing for his ankle but the moment did so Harry pulled his foot away.

"Harry stop" Lily insisted. "Please sit still".

Harry shook his head and almost out of irritation began to move to stand up again but the moment he was nearly to his feet he fell again.

"Harry you can't get up" the medic said. "You can't stand on it or it will only make it worse".

"I don't want you to pull it off" Harry whimpered. "It hurts".

"HEY" James suddenly snapped.

Harry went oddly quiet and everyone's attentions suddenly turned to him. He looked a bit surprised at first that he had actually managed to get everyone's attention but soon turned his focus back to Harry. "Sorry...I'm not used to this...but, it's alright, she isn't here to hurt you. All she wants to do is help".

Harry swallowed. "But it hurts..." he whined.

"I know it does, but you've got to be brave" he said encouragingly.

"I'm not brave" Harry said.

"But you are, Harry, if you're brave enough to jump back onto a departing train after some bloke you've never met before in your entire life on the hunch that he might be your father...well then you shouldn't have any problem with doing something as silly as taking off an ice skate" James said. "Alright?"

Lily looked dumbfounded and furious.

Harry nodded.

"Besides you're my son," James said uncertainly. He very uneasily took Harry's hand and squeezed it. "So I know you can do it alright? I love you".

He leaned over and kissed Harry on the cheek uneasily. Harry's eyes widened in disbelief and Lily looked ready to spit poison but she didn't say a word as the medic moved towards Harry's ankle and he felt his heart jump back up his throat.

"Alright Harry we're going to try again okay, hold really still" the paramedic replied.

She touched his ankle and the pain seared through his leg again. Lily squeezed him tightly and James had a death grip on his hand, he really didn't think about it as much at first but he soon realized that this was the first moment in his life he'd ever been together with his real family and it was spent entirely sobbing on the ice with a broken nose and a broken ankle. Yet, as strange as it was, it was rather nice. The pain radiating from his foot was unbearable and seemed to last an eternity. James didn't release his hand the entire time although he looked extremely tense. Then suddenly he felt his foot pull free from the skate.

Lily let out a sigh of relief and James released his hand.

"Well done sweetie" Lily replied. "I'm so proud of you".

James patted his shoulder and grinned. "Excellent" he said, there was definitely a note of relief in his voice. "Brilliant".

Harry took a breath and grinned, what a relief that was finally over.

"Good job Harry" the medic said. "Now let's see what we've got going here?"

She peeled away his sock and one look at why lie beneath it nearly had him reeling. His foot had swelled up twice it's size and was a bright blue color.

"Oh yeah, you cracked that one right in half" she said. "Alright well let's just get you off the ice and I'll call an ambulance, alright".

A few minutes later Harry was hobbling off the ice with the help of his mother and his father and back onto the deck where Mike was waiting for him anxiously. He was cleaned up and with the help of Mike and the medics Harry was hoisted up onto the ambulance and laid him down on the stretcher. Lily and James were arguing about whether or not James should accompany them to the hospital.

"And why shouldn't I be able to come? I am his father after all!" James insisted.

"Oh sure, if you want to call five minutes of moral support being a father" Lily snapped.

"Stop snapping at me as if it's my fault" James snapped. "Don't you think I didn't want to be there for him! I would have been if you had just told me!"

"Why would you care?" Lily snapped. "Even if it hadn't worked out between you and Celine, I'm certain there's some other girl you've got waiting for you at home".

"Celine? What are you talking about? And...another girl?" James demanded. "Like who? My mother? I mean...I suppose Sirius brings home the occasional girl or two but-"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Look, I don't have time to deal with you right now so why don't you just go on back to England already" she snapped.

"What is the matter with you?" James snapped. "It's been seven years since I last saw you and this is the hello I get?"

"I can't imagine you deserving any better" Lily snapped.

"Ouch," James said coldly.

"You aren't coming with us" Lily said.

"I'm afraid that's where you're wrong" James said snidely. "You may not have realized this yet but Harry's my son as much as he is yours".

"Is that so?" Lily replied snappily. "Then where were you seven years ago when I really needed you".

"I would have been if you had only told me" James snapped back. "A letter or something would have been nice".

"I wrote you tons of letters" Lily said. "Dating back to even before Harry was born and you didn't reply to a single one of them".

James blinked. "You're barking!" he snapped. "Lily, I thought you've been dead for all these years and then I come back to see that not only are you alive, but also that I have a son? Do you honestly think I've been getting these so called letters?"

"Are you calling me a liar?" Lily snapped.

James shook his head. "Not at all! All I'm saying is I didn't get any of them" he said.

"Impossible" Lily snapped. "I know at least one of them ended up at your place for certain!"

"ENOUGH"

Lily and James both went quiet as Harry saw the ragged man, Remus Lupin, step in between them.

"I realize you're both very frustrated with what happened years ago but we don't have time to bother with that right now. Harry's obviously in a bit of state, he's broken his ankle and he's in quite a bit of pain".

Harry saw Remus first turn to his mother

"Lily, James is as much Harry's father as you are his mother, at least by blood and now that we're all aware of each others' existences I'm afraid there's not much you can do about keeping Harry and James separated. James is Harry's father so he does legally have every right to go with you and Harry to this hospital, despite whether or not you approve of it. Now, I'm not sure what James did to upset you so but frankly you and I both know we haven't the time to discuss it now. Harry is in a lot of pain and needs you right now so I suggest you get into the ambulance and stay with him, are we all in agreement with the plan?"

Lily looked dangerous as James gave a triumphant grin but said nothing.

"Alright, very good. Lily, James; Sirius and I will meet you at the hospital as soon as we can, we'll discuss more about Harry when we get there".

"We...will?" Sirius asked. "Wait...where are they going?"

"We'll figure it out" Remus replied.

Lily gave James one final cold look before turning around and pushing herself up onto the back of the ambulance with James close behind her. Lily took a seat on one of the benches beside the stretcher Harry was laid out on. Mike, who had been sitting with Harry all the while and trying to make him as comfortable as he could, looked irate. Harry sat up and watched his father as he walked across the ambulance and sat down on the bench across from Lily on his other side.

"What's he doing here?" Mike asked.

"I'm Harry's father" James replied coolly. "It's sort of my job as a parent to be here with him".

"It was also your job as a parent to be there when he was born but that didn't stop you..." Mike muttered.

James winced at the blow and Harry looked over at Mike angrily.

"Stop it Mike!" he said.

Mike jumped. "Huh?" he asked. "But Pygmy-"

"It's okay...I'm...kind of happy he wants to come" he said.

James grinned at Harry but Mike and Lily didn't look as thrilled. There was suddenly a loud beeping sound and Mike dove his hand into the pocket of his coat and pulled out his pager.

"That's Gracia, she needs me for something with the cake" he replied. "I'll meet you guys at the hospital".

He glared at James. "I'm watching you" he warned.

"I'm shaking" James replied sarcastically.

Mike growled at him and jumped out of the back of the ambulance as the doors snapped shut behind him.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed!**

**Chapter three is being revamped :)**


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